


Leap of Chase

by YourAnonymousGod



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Adrenaline, Aliens, BAMF Ianto, Concerned Jack Harkness, Established Relationship, Gen, Headcanon, Ianto Jones-Centric, Minor Injuries, One Shot, Parkour, Post-Episode: s02e06 Reset, Pre-Episode: s02e13 Exit Wounds
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-07
Updated: 2020-06-07
Packaged: 2021-03-04 03:48:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24587131
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourAnonymousGod/pseuds/YourAnonymousGod
Summary: It's one of Ianto's rare days off and he gets called back in, experiencing more something he hadn't done for a while.
Relationships: Jack Harkness/Ianto Jones
Comments: 3
Kudos: 92





	Leap of Chase

**Author's Note:**

> Made this to satisfy my own HCs rather than finish my bigger fics

Grumbling to himself, Ianto pulled up his black Audi next to the ominous Torchwood SUV. Time was rolling on from lunch and Ianto had been settling down for some leftover Chinese and a new episode of _Top Gear_ but no, one of his fair days off had been interrupted _again_. Chinese and Jeremy Clarkson would have to wait for god knows how long.

Ianto didn't bother getting out straight away, just glaring out the window and fiddling with the packet of cigarettes in his pocket. He didn’t use them much, but he had an itch for one so Ianto climbed from his vehicle with a small frown and his gun in his shoulder holster. He pulled out a fag and lit it, taking a small drag and blowing it out as he watched the team head his way. When he could see the lines creasing Jack's forehead, Ianto took another puff, letting the smoke roll up into the sky.

He saw how Jack's eyes immediately scanned him up and down hungrily, not wearing his suit but opting on a black button-up shirt, his jacket he hadn't used in ages, and jeans held up by his studded belt. Ianto had only realised after leaving the house and driving half the journey that he was wearing the same outfit he had first approached Jack in. He couldn't deny the outfit had been used to seduce Jack so no wonder it was doing the job now when that wasn't the aim.

Not bothering to move, Ianto just leaned against the side of his car, waiting for the others. It was a little chilly but when wasn't Cardiff. Then, Ianto threw the end rest of his cigarette to the floor and stamped it out before the others could voice their resentments. Owen’s eye was already twitching, Ianto never really took his advice to stop, only smoke less.

"Ianto, you made it!"

"As always, sir." Ianto answered, checking that his keys were in his pockets before straightening up.

"Looking delectable too." The Captain purred in his ear once he was close enough, Ianto just rolled his eyes and adjusted his jacket, pushing Jack away slightly. He was entirely in the mood for flirting, afternoon ruined and all. "Sorry to call you out, we just can’t catch the thing."

"Yeah, well. Let’s get it over with."

"The tracker we thankfully managed to get on the thing is working, so we can just follow it." Tosh spoke up, looking at her PDA. Ianto let out a sigh from his nose wishing he hadn’t thrown the smoke away just yet.

They were at what Ianto assumed was an old factory site, brick buildings scaling upwards with a numerous amount of windows, some smashed in while others were boarded up. There were about four different buildings, two definitely factories and beside one another. The other two unknown for now. It was all really run down and abandoned, Ianto didn’t know why they hadn’t just knocked it down and put something else here instead, maybe restore some nature or something. Overgrown bushes were dotted around and Ianto was sure he spotted a fox snooping near the building earlier, but he wasn’t quite sure.

Tosh made a small, elated noise and pointed to their right "It’s in that building there." Jack clapped his hands together and walked off, talking back to them.

"Well, what are we waiting for."

~~~

Walking around the large, relatively empty building, Ianto craned his neck to gather everything in. It was fascinating that people used to walk the same floor and work in here with machinery, probably women weaving while fancy dressed men marched about ordering them to get back to work or inspecting the state of what they had just made. But now it was just nothing, no sounds apart from the nesting pigeons and hidden away rats, nobody working to earn a measly living any more. Just the Torchwood Team strolling through looking for an alien that Ianto hadn’t seen yet and had no idea if it was hostile or not or if it might try to eat his face.

His questions were answered when he stepped through to what looked like another area, maybe the storage room but Ianto didn’t know. Once he had stepped in there had been a god awful screech, high-pitched enough that it hurt his ears, forcing Ianto to cover them with his hands, earpiece ripped out, and bend over with the pain. When it died off, Ianto looked up to see the alien. It was bipedal and blue in flesh which seemed to move like it was flowing. There were no signs of any eyes so Ianto didn’t know if it could see him or not but there was a large mouth in the middle of what Ianto took for a head. It was making a noise as if it were crying and Ianto suddenly felt bad.

"Hello?" Ianto tried, surveying it. They were standing off and Ianto’s ears were still ringing. He didn’t want to reach for his gun in case it was peaceful and just scared. "I have no idea if you can understand me but I mean no harm."

He took a hesitant step forward and the creature did nothing to his luck. "We just want to send you home, that’s all. I bet you miss home."

 _"Ianto!"_ Came a shout and the door to their left slammed open, Jack there with his gun drawn and Owen following just behind. The creature was immediately startled and it ran at Ianto, screaming that awful sound again and hurting Ianto’s ears, it was enough to disorientate him and the thing knocked Ianto down, scampering off out of the building. "Ianto!"

The immortal was at his side in seconds, hands touching Ianto’s face as the noise faded and he could hear again. "Ianto, talk to me."

"God my ears hurt." Ianto moaned and Jack let out a small but nervous laugh, fingers resting right where Ianto knew his pulse to be as if Jack was checking to see if Ianto was still alive. Owen stood over them, subtly checking Ianto over for any sign of injury.

"What happened?" Jack asked as he helped Ianto stand, the alien was nowhere in sight. "You weren’t answering on your comm."

"It must have fallen out...you scared it you know." Jack looked at him in question and Ianto signed. "I had it calmed and it was letting me close but you both came storming it and it ran."

"Well I’m sorry for being concerned." Jack shot at him and Ianto glared, sighed again, and dusted himself off.

"Just try not to race into any more rooms without checking them out first, yeah?" Ianto smiled slightly at Jack to show he wasn’t mad, and he watched the Captain’s shoulders deflate and a small smile of his own form. Owen was grumbling beside them, looking at his own PDA and trying to ignore them but Ianto didn’t pay him any mind, squeezing Jack’s hand quickly before looking around for his fallen earpiece.

"The girls have found it apparently." Owen said and Jack nodded, letting the doctor take the lead to where they found Tosh and Gwen just outside one of a smaller building, it looked more like a house than a factor. They both looked a bit frazzled but otherwise unharmed.

"It went in there." Gwen gestured to the house and Jack began to walk to the door only for the thing to burst through it, clearly very panicked. Jack, being the closest, leapt to grab it but it was too fast. He overbalanced and missed the creature, falling back and sending his Webley scraping across the concrete floor. He landed with a thud and Ianto winced, wanting to rush to his side but knowing they had to rescue the creature. It was already past the rest of the team before they could blink.

"After it!" Jack yelled as he was already picking himself up, the team taking off out of the building after their initial shock. Owen was up ahead, not needing oxygen helped a great deal in the running department but Ianto's longer legs brought him up quicker. He could hear the others behind them, not too far.

"It's stuck." Owen called out as the alien ran into the brick wall of a factory which extended far on both sides before being cut off by a chain link fence on one end and an adjacent wall on the other. It's only option was to surrender or scale the wall. Ianto hoped it would do the former, really wanting to get home. However, the universe hated him and the alien clambered up to one of the windows, then up to the next, then the last one before it reached the roof.

"Crap!" Cursed Owen, gazing up at the roof and squinting due to the sun. The others caught up finally, Jack following Owen’s gaze and Gwen bent down on her knees to catch her breath.

"Anyone know if there’s a way to the roof?" He asked, looking at the team who all shook their heads. He looked down the end to the fence and Tosh spoke up.

"The inside is all crumbling, there's one floor but no way up to it." Jack muttered something under his breath.

"So we've lost it then?" Gwen asked, finally able to breathe properly again but Ianto turned away from the conversation as his eyes caught a set of rusted up stairs, which might have been an exit of sorts however the door looked boarded. Though, he could probably climb up one of the windows and then jump to the other wall which had a pipe running up it. So, without a word, Ianto walked off.

"Ianto? Where are you going?" Tosh asked, pulling everyone's attention to him. He didn't bother to look at them, just biting the inside of his cheek as he thought about how the brick was going to rough up his fingers without proper gloves.

"We need to get it, don't we?" With that, Ianto bound up the stairs which clanked under his shoes, looking down at them. Jack looked sceptical, like he was unsure of what Ianto was going to do. The women had unsuitable footwear if they agreed to the idea or not and Ianto already knew Owen would refuse immediately in fear of injuring his body which couldn’t heal. He turned to the window, the glass missing, either smashed out of just broken apart. Ianto wiped any sweat off his hands, jumping up to grab into the ledge and heave himself up.

"Be careful, Ianto." Jack advised and Ianto had to suppress a sarcastic retort, knowing the immortal was just concerned. Ianto just waved him off, skirting to the edge of the windowsill to step onto the next one. Ianto had thought about just stepping through the window to the inside but with one glance he noticed that this was one of the levels with the floor missing. That plan was a no-go, so Ianto looked at his only other option. The piping on the adjoining was in reach, and he could use it to get to the higher windows which hopefully had a floor behind them however he’d have to jump to it. Taking a quick glance down, seeing the team observing, Ianto took a breath and readied himself. Ianto reached out, judging the gap before jumping it.

His fingers closed around the metal, feet scraping at the brick before a moment before finding their hold. It brought back memories of his teen years, escaping the house and messing about with his mates, scaling walls and jumping across rooftops. Ianto hadn't been adventuring like this in years, and he missed the rush of adventure he used to get from it. The pipe was cold and rusted but it looked stable so Ianto began to climb it, pressing his shoes against the brick, moving one foot after the opposite hand to make sure he wouldn’t slide down. It took a lot of effort and Ianto froze when he was sure the pipe creaked and moaned, praying that it wouldn’t break. Once Ianto was high enough, he reached out to the windowsill, pushing himself off the pipe and grasping onto the edge, able to lift himself, so he could stand on it. This window was sealed up with wooden boards, meaning he would have to move to the next one which was thankfully open and glass all missing.

A second look to the ground, Ianto shuffled his way along the sill, checking out the following one prior to stepping onto it. Yet, as soon as his weight was put on the brick, Ianto felt it crumble beneath, barely having time to react as it broke off from the wall and Ianto slipped. A scream came from below, probably Gwen, Ianto thought as his heart rate went through the roof as his mind caught up with what happened, sure that his life flashed before his eyes while his shoes moved frantically to plant themselves on something, his arms automatically shot out, saving him from tumbling down with the broken windowsill. Ianto held still, letting himself calm down as Jack’s unsteady voice spoke in his ears.

 _"Ianto! Are you okay?"_ Breathing evenly, Ianto dragged himself up hissing when a burning sensation came from his palm. He looked to see the skin scraped and bloodied, wincing.as he sat on the ledge. _"Ianto?!"_ Ianto almost jumped, the Captain loud. Reaching for his earpiece, Ianto turned it on.

"Yeah I’m okay, don’t worry."

 _"Are you sure?"_ His tone was soft and Ianto smiled a tad.

"Yeah, got the adrenaline rushing." Ianto looked behind him, his efforts had paid off for there was a solid looking floor he could walk on even if it was covered in bird shit and glass. "I’m inside though, and there’s a way up to the roof."

 _"Good. Any way up we could try?"_ Taking a scan around the room Ianto frowned, walking over to the part of the roof that had caved, a perfect ramp for him to walk up.

"Not that I can find. I guess just be ready if it comes running again."

 _"Will do. Be careful."_ There was a silent message there that Ianto understood, taking it to heart as he clicked off his earpiece and stood on the roof. The breeze hit him and it helped cool him off from his exercise, wandering around the slanted roof and trying not to slip down. Ianto reached the edge, spotting the team down the bottom with Owen missing. Gwen waved up at him, so he waved back, feeling himself smile and then carrying on looking for the alien.

He managed to find it, thankfully. It was standing on the other end of the roof slant and little ways down and Ianto stopped, not getting too close in case it decided it wanted to scream or run again. It was also a little awkward for him to stand properly, not a fan of the idea of falling.

"Hey, it’s me again." Ianto bit his lip, watching it. It just stood still, body wobbling and quiet. "Sorry about my friends, they’re a bit...impulsive." it didn’t react as Ianto got closer, hoping this meant it trusted him. Ianto was in touching distance when the shrilling of his mobile cut through the silence and the alien took off yet again. Feeling annoyance and irritation build up, Ianto was so close to screaming out he answered the phone, chasing after the creature.

 _"Ianto."_ It was his sister and Ianto huffed out a sigh.

"Rhi, hi. Very busy right now." Ianto said as he focused on not slipping off the roof.

 _"Oi, don’t you start that with me, you always say that."_ Her tone was annoyed but he really didn’t have time to deal with her now, as much as he loved her.

"But Rhi, I am busy. Please, I’ll call back later."

 _"Ianto, don’t you dare-"_ She started but Ianto cut her off.

"Sorry for doing this." Ianto hung up on her, wincing and knowing she’ll skin him later for that, but he needed to focus on getting alien. Ianto touched his earpiece. "Jack, it’s running again!"

 _"Okay, Owen’s gone to get the SUV, we’ll be ready to corner it if it jumps down."_ Ianto just made it to the tip of the roof, watching as the alien slid down the other side and leapt over to the building alongside it. He cursed under his breath, knowing he shouldn’t follow but deciding to ignore that. _"Ianto, Owen’s here, just saw the thing jump to the other building."_

"I know, Jack."

_"Don’t you- Ianto, I know what you’re thinking and don’t."_

"We need to catch it, Jack it could be dangerous."

 _"I’d rather let it loose then lose you."_ Jack’s voice sounded genuine and it tugged at Ianto’s chest, but he wasn’t about to risk the world over his own safety. Making sure his phone was definitely off and in his pocket, Ianto made his way down the slope. He had no idea if the others could see him, hoping not because if he failed then Ianto didn’t need them to see his body splat against the concrete. Jack would kill him if he died doing this but Ianto was willing to take the risk, Torchwood would always kill him young.

_"Ianto! Don't!"_

Ianto ignored him, turning his attention to the space between both roofs, it was quite a distance but the other roof was flat and lower down so jumping to it would be easier. Even still, there was a flash of panic as his feet left the surface, leaping through the air fast and body colliding with the other roof. Ianto rolled with the motion, grunting slightly and having his hands flare up. His adrenaline was running high and his heart rate sped up again but Ianto didn’t dawdle, following after the alien.

"Jack, I’ve almost got it." He breathed heavily, forcing himself to sprint that little bit after it. He was closing in and it was slowing down as it had nowhere to go other than down. And down was around three stories. Ianto, hardly thinking and just really desperate to get home, took to tackling the alien who he thought wasn't too close to the edge but was unfortunately proven wrong as the momentum he brought him sent them rolling and over the edge.

"Shit-"

~~~

_"Shit-"_

The channel went ominously silent as Jack and the team rounded the corner of the building to see Ianto and the blue alien fly off the side of it. Jack froze, horror spreading through him as his lover flailed in a free fall, unable to do anything. He knew he shouldn't have let Ianto climb the building, it was his day off, he shouldn't have even been here.

"Oh god." Mutter Gwen in dread, watching beside him. Jack couldn't tear his eyes away to look at her, no clue where Owen or Tosh were now. All Jack could watch was Ianto which might have been why he hardly noticed the alien expanding and only snapped out of his stare when Ianto was suddenly engulfed in a blue plasma-like substance that then slammed into the ground and bounced. The shape moved towards them, Ianto frozen inside like a fly stuck in amber, and Jack only just leapt out of the way when Gwen exclaimed, twisting around to follow it. The blue object kept rolling until it bumped into the SUV, making the car rock a little but nothing more, both objects settling.

The others were hesitant to approach but Jack thought of nothing but Ianto, wanting him freed from the substance immediately and racing up to it. His last expression as he fell was preserved, Ianto's eyes wide with fear and mouth open with shock, limbs spread out. Jack reached towards it and poked the thing, it felt like jelly and the edge of it were moving as if the breeze was acting on it. He had no idea how to get Ianto out.

"Mr Alien? Dunno if you can hear me but I need you to let my Welshman go." Nothing happened at first and Jack frowned, looking it up and down as the rest of the team wandered over. "Please?"

Just like that, the alien melted away and Ianto fell from where he was suspended, Jack managing to catch him and guide Ianto to the floor enough so he didn't smack his head against it, using Jack's chest as a cushion. Ianto began to cough and splitter, clearly out of breath and Jack rubbed circles into his back to sooth the man and hold him close with his other arm. The creature stood before them, quietly and just watching with no eyes.

"Thank you." Was all Jack could say and it nodded at him. Ianto just leant back into Jack more, eyes shutting.

"Alright tea boy, I just want to quickly check you out, 'kay?" Ianto nodded and let Owen go about his work, answering his questions with small mutterings and just being Ianto. It did make Jack smile though and it meant Ianto was alright.

Later, with the alien sitting calming in the boot and the rest of the team piling in the car, Jack noticed Ianto looking perturbed as he patted down his pockets.

"Ianto? What is it?" Jack queried, concerned about him. Ianto just looked towards him, an expression of annoyance clear on his face.

"I dropped my lighter!"

**Author's Note:**

> Comments, Kudos, and Criticism are always appreciated.  
> Tumblr - @drjekyll-is-gay  
> I have a HTTYD discord (none rp) in my tumblr bio, anyone is free to join :)


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